Sheet feeding apparatus



July 28, 1936. FENTQN 2,049,112

SHEET FEEDING APPARATUS Filed July '7, 1930 FIG. 1

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I N VEN TOR.

' ATTORNEY6.

Patented July 28, 1936 UNITED STATES- SHEET FEEDING APPARATUS Ray M. Fenton, Youngstown, Ohio, assignor to The Newton Steel Company, Youngstown, Ohio,

a corporation of Ohio Application July 7, 1930, Serial No. 46ii,148

1 Claims. (CI. 80-44) This invention, relating as indicated to sheet feeding and conveying apparatus, has specific reference to apparatus adapted to be employed for the purpose of feeding sheets to a pair of rolling mill rolls, such sheets being received either from a second pair of rolling mill rolls,- or from any form of apparatus usually employed in the manufacture of sheet iron. More specifically my invention relates to a sheet feeding apparatus adapted to be employed in connection with cold rolls which are usually employed for the purpose of finishing sheets after the same have been preliminarily rolled in the usual hot mills. Considerable difiiculty has been experiencedin the past in sheet metal practice in feeding the sheets whichare usually arranged in packs to the cold rolls so that such sheets are not broken, split, or marred in being fed to the rolls and in their passage therethrough.

.When a pack of sheets is fed from a horizontal plane directly into the cold roll mill, such sheets will have a tendency to whip both vertically and laterally, which usually results in damage to a number of such sheets. As a direct result of each whipping, and also the sheets-having a tendency to spread in passing into the cold roll, a marking or defacing of such sheets occurs when the same pass into the neck or unpolished terminals of the rolls. The only means heretofore successfully employed for the purpose of preventing a whipping or spreading of the sheets in the pack as fed to the cold roll has been to manually feed such sheets in order to obviate the formation of a considerable quantity of scrap. The manual feeding of the sheets is, however, undesirable from the standpoint of the cost, as well as the slowing down of production incidental to the injection of the human element in the line of production.., It is among the objects of my invention to provide a sheet feeding apparatus which shall have none of the above named undesirable characteristics and further which may be employed not only to speed up production and reduce the cost of manufacture', but also to materially reduce the formation of scrap.

Other objects of my invention will appear as .the description proceeds. To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention, then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The annexed drawing and the following description set forth1in detail certain mechanism. embodying the invention, such disclosed means view of the apparatus comprising my invention; and Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 1.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, the

apparatus comprising my invention is shown posi tioned intermediately of two pairs of rolling mill rolls l and 2, 3 and 4. The preferred direction of travel of the sheets through the apparatus is from rolls 3 and 4 to the rolls 1 and 2. The upper roll 2 of the last named pair of mill rolls has associated therewith a pinch roll 5 which preferably runs in contact with the upper of such rolls and which may be journalled in the housing in which the mill rolls are journalled or in any other suitable housing which will maintain such pinch roll in proper relation to the mill rolls. No means ofsupport for the pinch roll is illustrated in the drawing, it being understood that any one of a number of supporting means may be eniployed as is well known to those familiar withthe art of rolling mill construction.

Positioned intermediately of the two pairs of rolling mill rolls is the sheet conveying and feeding table forming a part of my invention, which consists of side frame members 6, I, 8, and 9, which may be suitably supported upon legs H), II, l2, and I3. It will be noted that the side frame members 6 and I which are supported on the legs l0 and II are inclined as most clearly shown in Fig. 1 forthe purpose hereinafter more fully explained. The side frame members 6 and I have extending transversely thereof shafts l4 and I5, which are suitably journalled in bearings l6 and I! mounted on such side frame members, and such shafts l4 and I5 have secured thereto aplurality of wheels l8 and [9 which serve as a means of support and propulsion for a plurality taining such endless conveyor belts in passing around the end of the feed table. It will be noted that some of the endless conveyor belts 20, namely those in the center of the table, extend into close proximity with the mill rolls I and 2 while the side belts terminate at a short distance from such rolls. This construction or arrangement of the belts permits the sheets to pass more freely from the end of the conveyor to the mill than would be possible were such side belts to extend into close proximity to the mill. v The side frame members 8 and 9 have extending transversely thereof and journalled thereon shafts and 26, said shafts having a plurality of axially spaced rolls such as I! secured thereon for the purpose of sustaining and propelling, a to second endless conveyor 21. The endless conveyor'belts 21 pass around wheels such as i! which are secured to a shaft 28 which may be journalled in bearing blocks mounted on bracket end of such conveyor belts travel, ispositioned higher than the receiving end of the conveyor belts 20, namely the periphery of the wheels i8. By having the two conveyor belts arranged in the above described manner, the sheets may pass easily from the conveyor 21 onto the conveyor 20 without becoming jammed in the break between such conveyors.

' It will be noted that by employing the above described sheet conveying and feeding apparatus, the sheets after they leave the rolls 3 and 4 are received on the horizontal conveyor 21 which moves the same onto the conveyor 20 which, as hereinbefore described has oppositely sloping portions sloping away from the shaft 23. As the packs of sheets pass over the hump above the shaft 23, such packs of sheets will be bent so that when the front ends thereof pass into the mill rolls I and 2 any whipping action of such sheets is entirely obviated. The breaking of the pack across the hump over the shaft 23 also prevents any spreading of the sheets in the pack which would occur were the sheets to remain dished or unbent as the same pass into the second pair of mill rolls.

It will be noted that, instead of introducing the sheets or packs of sheets directly into the rolls l and 2, such sheets are first engaged by the pinch roll 5 which likewise causes a bending or breaking of the sheets so that all whipping or scattering of the pack is entirely eliminated.

- With the above described form of construction, the sheet feeding and transporting is accomplished entirely automatically without the supervision of an operator and the feeding to the second pair of rolls is accomplished in a manner much superior to that which could be accomplished by the employment of a manual control over the pack as it is fed to the rolls. It is believed that any further description is unnecessary for'those familiar with the art of rolling mill construction; and such apparatus, although having been explained in connection with the feeding operation for cold rolls, may likewise be employed for the purpose of feeding sheets either singly or in packs to any form of apparatus usually employed in the manufacture of sheet metal.

Other modes of applying the principle of my .invention may be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. In combination with a pair of rolling mill rolls, a sheet feeding table adjacent said rolls, said feeding table including an endless conveyor having oppositely sloping portions respectively adapted to receive such sheets and feed the same to said rolls, and a second endless conveyor in longitudinal alignment with said first named conveyor, said last named conveyor having its discharge end at a greater elevation than the receiving end of said first named conveyor.

2. In combination with a pair of rolling mill rolls, a pinch roll associated with one of said mill rolls, and a sheet-feeding table including an endless conveyor adapted to deliver sheets onto a second endless conveyor, said last named conveyor comprising a plurality of parallel belts having oppositely sloping portions adapted to respectively receive the sheets and present the same to said pinch roll and mill roll, the lateral conveyor-belts terminating remote from the rolls.

3. In combination with rolling mills in tandem, endless conveyor means between said mills comprising a plurality of conveyor belts and a second plurality of conveyor belts having oppositely sloping portions adapted to respectively receive such sheets from said first-named conveyor, the receiving end of said last-named conveyor being at a lower elevation than the discharge end of the said first-named conveyor.

4. In combination with rolling mills in tandem, endless conveyor means between said mills conveyor in longitudinal alignment with said first-named conveyor, said last-named conveyor having its discharge end at a greater elevation than the receiving endof said first-named conveyor.

6. Mechanism for feeding sheets to rolling mills including in tandem, endless conveyor means comprising a plurality of conveyor belts and a second plurality of conveyor belts having oppositely sloping portions adapted to respectively receive the sheets from said first-named conveyor and feed them to a rolling mill, the receiving end of said last-named conveyor being at a lower elevation than the discharge end of the said first-named conveyor.

'7. The combination with a rolling mill for rolling relatively thin sheets, of a conveyor table adjacent said mill for feeding thereto the sheets to i be rolled, said conveyor provided with adjacent oppositely sloping portions respectively extending to the receiving and discharging ends of the conveyor, said conveyor having a long continuous upper surface and said adjacent sloping portions merging into a central curved surface lying above said adjacent portions so that a sheet passing over said conveyor to said mill is bent into angularly related portions.

. RAY M. FENTON. 

